Governor O’Malley’s 2010 Capital Budget
Governor O’Malley has proposed a $1.56 billion Capital Budget for FY10. The House will focus on prioritizing shovel ready projects that will stimulate our economy.  A robust Capital Budget and infrastructure spending are key components to economic recovery because they put Marylanders to work, keep us competitive in the global marketplace, and allow us to deliver services as efficiently as possible. 
The $1.56 billion FY10 Capital Budget is funded with $1.2 billion in debt and $332 million in current funds from MDE revenue bonds, Federal PAYGO funds and PAYGO special funds.  The CDAC recommended a $1.111 billion limit for the general obligation (GO) debt and an additional $27 million Academic Revenue Bond limit.  The Capital budget includes $1.11 billion in GO debt for State-owned facilities and an additional $11.2 million from de-authorizing unexecuted or completed GO bonds from previous years.  The FY10 Capital Budget virtually eliminates the use of general funds.

The FY10 Capital Budget will relieve pressure on our very lean Operating Budget.  For example, bonding funds for the ICC with $63 million for FY09, $75 million for FY10 and $9 million for FY11 takes $147 million out of the operating budget and requires statutory changes that are included in the 2009 BRFA.  BRFA reduces the operating budget by $51 million by transferring the purchase of new Medevac helicopters to the FY10 Capital Budget.  It also includes other items traditionally funded in the operating budget: $10 million for the Public Safety Communication System; $15 million for the Dept. of Housing and Community Development revolving loan program and $5.5 million for the MDE water quality and drinking water loan program. 
FY10 Capital Budget Funding by Category
 

FY10 Capital budget funded projects:
 

• $266 million for public school construction, including the aging schools program
• $130 million for Chesapeake Bay Restoration
• $87.5 million for Community College construction
• $40 million for state helicopter replacement, instead of using general funds
• $24 million for the Prince George’s Hospital System
• $23 million for the Jessup Community Corrections Facility
• $22 million for Program Open Space
• $17 million for John Hopkins Critical Care and Pediatric Center
• $15 million for the Salisbury Armory
• $8.4 million for Community Health Facilities

The $87..5 million in capital improvements for the community colleges of Maryland is an increase over the $81 million in FY09.  Below are the Capital Budget Appropriations for community colleges by jurisdiction:
 

• Baltimore City            $3.2M
• Baltimore County       $7.4M
• Cecil County              $500,000
• Eastern Shore             $6.0M
• Harford County          $14.7M
• Montgomery              $32.2M
• Prince George’s          $23.9M

The FY10 Capital Budget includes $15 million dollars for legislative initiatives.. New bond bill criteria will include language so that only “construction ready” projects will receive state funding for the House of Delegates portion of the Legislative Initiatives.  Only high impact projects that can be certified as ready to proceed with design and construction within an 18-month period from the effective date of the 2009 Capital Budget (June 1, 2009) will be considered. Construction readiness factors will include:
 

• the public benefit derived from the project
• employment increased or preserved in the operation of the facility
• the extent to which project programs and designs are in place, necessary permits are specified, applied for or approved, and a project financing plan is in place, including commitments from other funding partners

The FY10 Capital Budget is geographically balanced to build and improve critical infrastructure around the state while continuing to reinforce our priorities: education, healthcare, public safety and the environment.  The Legislature has used the Capital Budget to:
 

• Fund over $1 billion in school construction in just the last 3 years
• Invest record amounts of funds into our community college system in each of the last two years
• Continue to fund the improvement and access to high quality healthcare around the state by upgrading hospitals and community health centers 
• Invest in cutting edge equipment and facilities for our first responders
• Fund Chesapeake Bay clean up at an unprecedented rate while investing in wastewater and runoff infrastructure to reduce the ongoing pollution of our #1 natural resource